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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman – now owns 80% of the club, with the rest split between RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners, including CEO Amanda Staveley, directed the resume.
Before the takeover was announced, Amnesty International urged the Premier League to change the test of its owners and directors to address human rights issues and prevent “sportwashing”.
“We have significant concerns, alongside human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, regarding the treatment of LGBT + people in Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world,” Pride in Football said in a report on Saturday. communicated.
“It is evident that the new owners of Newcastle United have a close connection to, and in some cases are, the same people who run the oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia.
“Football authorities have serious and important questions to answer in allowing owners and sponsors to use football clubs as products to ‘wash sports’ and ‘rainbow wash’ their treatment of. LGBT + people, women and other minorities. “
Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and Amnesty International has asked how the Premier League can run campaigns like “Rainbow Laces”, an initiative it launched with LGBTQ + rights group Stonewall to promote diversity and equality.
Newcastle United’s official LGBTQ + fan group on Friday said it hoped the club’s buyout could have a “positive influence” in Saudi Arabia and improve conditions for LGBTQ + people there.
Staveley denied that the acquisition was designed to “cleanse the sport” from Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, saying the deal would rebuild the club into a winning team.
However, Pride in Football has expressed solidarity with LGBT + fans who would see the takeover as “a sign of the continued disruption of human rights commitments in sport.”
“It is our fundamental belief that no fan should be in the situation where they have to decide between supporting the club they love and defending their rights or the rights of others,” the statement continued.
“We have directly called for further adjustment and proper testing for owners and administrators … This takeover highlights just how inadequate the current football ownership tests and structures are in this country – they do not. are simply not suitable for the purpose. ”
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